More Money or Working With Your Friends? What Workers Really Want

This article is from our friends at
LearnVest
, a leading site for women and their money.

What’s the key to a happy working life?

Here’s a hint: It’s not your salary.

Job search website Jobsite
recently conducted a survey
of 1,000 workers in the United Kingdom and found that for 70% of the participants, having work friends is the most important part of being happy on the job.

A majority of workers would turn down a raise if it meant that they could continue
working with friends
. On top of that, women—more so than men—said that they preferred having friends at work to having more money. 46% of men said that they would choose a higher-paying job even if it meant not getting along with co-workers, compared to 26% of women.

Cameron Anderson, the lead researcher of the experiment,
explains the findings
. “One of the reasons why money doesn’t buy you happiness is that people quickly adapt to the new level of income or wealth. Lottery winners, for example, are initially happy but then return to their original level of happiness quickly,” he said. “It’s possibly that being respected, having influence and being socially integrated just never gets old.” (On the other hand,
underindulgence
can bring you more happiness.)